Self-propelled marine anchor



Filed April 11, 1947 FIG.

ow mu flea/aw INVENTOR.

Patented Feb. 13, 1951 SELF-PROPELLED MARINE AN CHOR Lynn G. Howell, Houston, Tex, assignor, by me sne assignments, to Standard Oil Development Company, Elizabeth, N. J., a corporation of Delaware Application April 11, 1947, Serial/No. 740,792

2 Claims.

The present invention is directed to an apparatus for anchoring ships or other watercraft.

More particularly, the invention is concerned necessary to anchor the ship from which the reading is obtained. The conventional-procedure.

requires the use of some sort of small auxiliary boat andoneman or more. The small boat is employed tocarry the conventional marine anchor a sufficient distance from the larger ship before releasing it so that. the larger ship will. be securely anchored. The distance requiredfor anchoring a ship from which prospecting is taking place is primarily a function of the depth of, the water, the deeper the water, the greater the distance. For example, for depths of about 100 feet it may be necessary to carry an anchor some 600 feet away before dropping it. It will be understood that each ship from which prospecting takes place often requires two anchors, one at the bow and one at the stern. It can be understood that considerable time may be consumed in establishing such a station. The problem is aggravated moreover, when lateral anchors are used which frequently is necessary when the wave motion is such that the ship requires stabilization by putting out more than two anchors. It will be apparent from the foregoing discussion that a considerable amount of time and effort could be saved if some faster and more convenient anchoring devices could be employed.

It is, therefore, the main object of the present invention to provide a variable buoyancy anchor which includes a propulsion device and which can be remotely controlled from the ship to be anchored.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a rapid and efiicient apparatus for anchoring seagoing ships or other watercraft.

The device of the present invention may be described briefly as comprising a stable variable buoyancy vessel which includes one or more anchor flukes and propulsion means.

More specifically, the device of the present into the vessel.

rigidly fixed to the buoyant vessel II.

vention may be described as involving a vessel of suitable size and shape for buoyancy, a stabilizing means forming an integral part of the vessel and one or more anchor flukes suitably attached The device of the present invention also includes means for propulsion and for sinking and raising the vessel, including the anchor fluke.

The invention will now be further described in conjunction with the drawing, in which Fig. 1 illustrates one embodiment thereof; and

Fig. 2 is a cross section taken along the lines. IIII of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawing, numeral II designates a vessel of a general streamlined shape adapted to be propelled easily through water. Vessel II has attached toit and forming an 1n tegral part thereof a keel or stabilizing means I2 Vessel II may be suitably divided, into'three compartments I3, I4 and I5, compartments l3 and I5 being sealed off from compartment [4 and forming buoyancy and air compartments. Compartment I4 is in communication with an air motor I6 through a conduit I1; Air motor It is rigidly attached to the vessel II by suitable means and is provided with a propeller or screw Ill-which when actuated'by introduction of the air or other suitable compressed gas through conduit I9 forms a means for propelling thebuoyant vessel I I which may be both propelled and controlled by the introduction of air. The air thus serves as a means for propelling the vessel II and provides buoyancy as described. The stabilizing means or keel I2 is so constructed that a portion of the stabilizing means l2 indicated by the numeral 2% serves as a rudder for the device. The rudder 28 may or may not be rigidly arranged with the keel I2. If desired, the rudder 20 may be arranged to allow setting or controlling the direction of travel of the anchor of the present invention other than in a straight line.

Aifixed to the rudder 20 is a cable 2| which connects with andis fixed to a ship or other watercraft not shown.

The keel or stabilizing device l2 has affixed to it an anchor fluke 22 which may be affixed rigidly or flexibly to the keel I2.

In employing the device of the present invention the vessel II is placed in the water alongside the afore-mentioned ship, which is to be anchored at a given spot. The cable 2! is affixed to the ship, on a suitable reel for easy manipulation. The air conduit or hose I9 is also flexibly connected to. the ship and wound on a 3 uitable reel or paying out device. Air is injected into motor it under a pressure of about 5 pounds to give buoyancy to the vessel II. When it is desired to send the vessel II out to a cer tain distance from the ship air pressure up to about 100 pounds is employed to cause the air motor It to be operative and to provide buoyancy by maintaining the chamber Ill filled with air and prevent water entering into the chamber I through an orifice or opening 23. Under these conditions the air motor I6 causes the propeller screw I8 to rotate and propel the vessel II away from the ship which is to be anchored, the excess air bubbling outward from the compartment It through opening 23. The vessel II is so designed that it will remain in a floating condition and about half submerged when it is traveling on the surface of the water.

When the cable 2I has been let out to a sufficient distance, the flow of air through air conduit I9 is stopped and, by suitable valving arrangement, air is vented and water enters the compartment it through opening 23 allowing the whole assembly to be submerged and sink to the floor of the sea. As the vessel Ii sinks to the floor of the sea the anchor fiuke engages with the mud and firmly affixes itself to the bottom of the sea allowing the ship, not shown, to be anchored. The fiuke 22 may be firmly fixed in the mud by the ship exerting tension on the cable 2|.

Ingress of water to the motor it through conduit I7 is prevented by the float valve arrangement located in chamber 2 afiixed to the top of the vessel II. The fioat valve arrangement is of conventional type and is indicated by the numeral 25 and is actuated by float 2'8 which prevents the water from entering into the conduit ll. As the level of the water in vessel It rises to a point determined, automatically the valve 25 is closed and water is prevented from entering into the conduit Ill and thus into the motor I6.

When it is desired to lift anchor, air is forced from a supply of air on the ship, not shown, through the inlet line I9 sufficient to give buoyancy to the vessel i I by forcing water from compartment I4, tension on the cable 2| having been slacked off. As mentioned before, approximately 5 pounds of air will usually be suificient,

to give buoyancy to the vessel II at the surface but the amount of air pressure required will vary depending on the depth to which the vessel It has been submerged. Suffice to say a sufficient air pressure will be employed to free completely compartment IQ of water. The buoyancy thus given to" the vessel I I will cause the anchor fluke 22 to be freed from the muck and mud at the bottom of the sea. After the vessel H has been raised to the surface it may be returned to the ship by reeling in the cable 2| or by allowing the ship to proceed to the point where the anchor rests while reeling up the cable 2| and air conduit I9.

When employing a pressure of about 5 pounds per square inch to give buoyancy to the device of the present invention, as mentioned before, about 100 pounds per square inch, are necessary for propulsion. Under these conditions the device of the present invention will travel from the ship to be anchored at a rate of 100 to 150 feet per minute. I

As mentioned before, the size and'dimensions of the device of the present invention will vary with the size of the ship or other watercraft to be anchored. For a boat 65 feet in length the vessel II should have a displacement of about 4 cubic feet.

While the fluke 22 has been shown rigidly affixed to the keel I2, it will be apparent to workers in the art that the fluke 22, or a plurality of such fiukes, may be secured to the underside of vessel I I in a manner such that they may be readily adjusted to any desired angle for effective engagement into the floor of the body of water. Such a modification is within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The type of flukes employed in the present invention will be those anchor flukes generally available in the art. As examples, the Danforth anchor fiuke and the Northill fluke are suitable in the apparatus of the present invention. As shown, the vessel II may be made inseveral compartments. It may be desirable under some conditions, however, to make the vessel II of a single compartment. Sometimes, however, it will be desirable to compartmentalize the vessel II to give stability to the device.

While the apparatus of the present invention has been shown to be of an elongated barrel shape with the ends streamlined to navigate water, the vessel II may be of any shape which is buoyant and which is provided with stabilizing means to maintain the assembly upright in water. For example, the compartments I3, I 3 and it may be contained in a spherical shape or may be contained in an ovoidal vessel. The shape of the vessel It may influence the stability and the water drag of the device but otherwise has little to do with its success.

While the device of the present invention has been illustrated as being propelled by the air motor It with the attached propeller screw I8, it-will be apparent to the skilled worker that the air employed for buoyancy may be the propulsion means without employing an air motor. For example, it may be desirable under some conditions to eliminate the air motor 66 and the propeller screw I8 and to provide an air jet adjacent the rudder device 20. Under these conditions the air conduit I9 connects into the vessel Ii at the point the air conduit I'I enters the valve chamber 24. When the air jet is employed as the propulsion means air pressure is introduced through the air conduit into the top of the vessel II sufiicient to eject the air as a jet from the stern of the vessel and propel it rapidly through the water.

The device of the present invention has been described and illustrated by anchor flukes forming an integral part thereof. The invention may have substituted for the anchor flukes suitable grappling means which are sunk into the muck and mud on the sea bottom and cause the device to be firmly anchored. Similarly, the grappling means may be hooks or other similar equipment which will allow objects to be retrieved.

When the anchor flukes of the present device are substituted for by grappling means it may be possible to employ the present invention in raising objects from the sea floor. For example, a small object is located below the surface of the sea. The buoyant vessel of the present invention including a suitable grappling mech anism may be sunk above it and the grappling device engaged with the object and the buoyant vessel then raised by blowing out the water from the compartment l4 by application of suitable air pressure.

While grappling means have been "difierentiated from anchor fiukes in the above discussion, it is intended that the terminology grappling means will encompass any device engageable with the mud and/or muck on the sea bottom or with objects which may be lifted from the floor of the sea.

The nature and objects of the present invention having been completely described and illustrated, What I wish to claim as new and useful and to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A self-propelled, variable-buoyancy anchor comprising, in combination, a hollow vessel defining an orifice in the underside thereof, said orifice providing free fiow of fluid into and out of the interior of the vessel, means for passing compressed gas into the top of said vessel and for venting said gas as desired, said means including a conduit of suitable length for connection between the vessel and a source of compressed gas arranged upon a watercraft which is to be anchored, propelling means responsive to flow of said gas therethrough for propelling-the vessel in floating condition, means carried by the vessel for stabilizing the direction of propulsion thereof, and grappling means aflixed beneath the vessel.

2. A self-propelled, variable-buoyancy device for anchoring a watercraft comprising, in combination, a hollow vessel defining an open orifice in the underside thereof, a compressed air motor secured to the underside of said vessel, a propeller carried and driven by said motor for propelling the vessel in floating condition, a. first conduit of suitable length having one end connected to an air inlet of said motor and another end adapted to be connected to a source of compressed air on said watercraft, a second conduit for transferring air from an air outlet of said motor into the top of said vessel whereby introduction of compressed air into said conduits and said motor causes water to be expelled from the vessel through said orifice and causes the vessel to be propelled, and venting of air from the conduits and motor permits water to fiood'the vessel through the orifice, means carried by the vessel for stabilizing the direction of propulsion thereof, and at least one anchor fluke affixed beneath said vessel.

LYNN G. HOWELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 568,982 Konrad et al. Oct. 6, 1896 1,012,679 Marsters et al Dec. 26, 1911 1,081,103 Ehinger Dec. 9, 1913 2,361,949 Langdon Nov. 7, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 4,710 Great Britain Nov. 19, 1879 8,101 Great Britain Sept. 8, 1904 257,858 Germany Dec. 4, 1909 

